Gabriela Watson-Burkett (she/her/ella): Peruvian descendant, Brazilian-raised, and Philly based! Gabriela is a filmmaker, producer, and educator who uses media to create awareness and inspire social change. Gabriela’s projects focus on the intersection of Latin culture, Black identity, women empowerment, and community voices. She is one of the Co-founders and Program Director of the ¡Presente! Media collective. Gabriela has accumulated extensive experience as a multimedia producer; she has worked with WPVI-TV/6ABC, WHYY, and PhillyCAM. Gabriela also has experience teaching Digital Cinema and Latin American Cinema at various universities in the Philadelphia area. Her documentary "Baobab Flowers" won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Short at the 2017 BlackStar Film Festival and it is being screened in various film festivals. She is currently producing two other documentaries: Immigrant Mothers Tell Their Stories and Unpacking John Rhoden. 

Gabriela has received many awards including the AL DIA News Women of Merit, the Leeway Transformation Award and Art and Change Grant, the IPMF Film Grant, the Lenfest Next Generation Fund, and the Philadelphia Independent Media Finishing Fund Grant. Gabriela holds an MFA in Film & Media Arts from Temple University and a BA in Communications from Faculdade Casper Libero in São Paulo, Brazil.